The Icy Path
by K.I.T.T. RIDER
Summary: Even if they were at the bottom of society, they would still love each other. After all, true love never dies. -*For the Diamondshipping Marathon*-


**_A/N: Yes, surprising, isn't it? The Queen of Anxietyshipping is writing Diamondshipping. Well, I happen to have some food friends who happen to be Diamondshippers. I don't mind, really; as long as the author/authoress is a good person, their shippings don't matter, so I hope you understand that._**

**_This is for the Diamondshipping Marathon, and dedicated to all my good Diamondshipper friends out there._**

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Breaking up with someone was definitely harder than it appeared to be. The rain pelted him as he walked down the street, carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder. His ex had kicked him out after learning that he no longer cared for her; and honestly, he was glad to be out of the relationship. The girl had been possessive of him; too much so, to be exact. This was practically the first time he had been allowed outside of her apartment since he had been together with her.

Kaito was relatively numb. The rain chilled him to the bone, soaking his black hoodie and jeans until they clung to his skin. He couldn't feel the dampness of the clothing, nor could he really care about it. All he could think about was how to get back to his father's house without succumbing to hypothermia.

His heart ached. All the things that his ex-girlfriend had yelled at him were beginning to resurface after nearly a month. She had verbally abused him across their three-year relationship, and she was completely ruthless whenever she had been high on heroin or whatever else she did. Words like _pathetic, useless, worthless_ circled around his mind, forcing him to stop walking before he broke down. Wiping at his eyes, he breathed in deeply before going on down the sidewalk.

Perhaps the local park held something to comfort him, because honestly, he was ready to kill himself at this point.

…

…

She had killed her own brother.

Rio knew she couldn't control her ability. The icy curse that gave her the name of the Abominable Snow-Girl was the very one that she hurt people with. Whenever somebody stomped her name into the ground with piercing words and spat obscenities, she freeze them in a column of ice, rendering them either dead or stuck in a vegetable state. The number of incidents that she caused had grown so much that she and her twin had been forced on the run.

Until tonight, it had been just her and Ryouga, and now it was just her.

Ice collected on the tips of her fingers as she stood in front of the lake. The rain around her froze the instant it came into her vicinity, turning into large snowflakes and piling around her. Clenching her hands into fists, she screamed and froze the entire lake, unable to contain her rage at herself for doing such a thing.

"Ryouga!" she cried, her tears freezing and creating crystal white tracks down her cheeks. She couldn't kill herself along with her twin; her body was pure crystalline, rendering her nearly indestructible. But she didn't want this fate; self-hatred boiled in her body and she threw herself to the ground, sobbing into the frozen and dead grass.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at home?" a rough voice asked from behind her, surprising her. She whipped around, narrowing her crimson eyes on the guy, ice building up around her.

"Who the hell are you?" she shot right back. Debating her options, she decided to simply throw him off course than freeze him to death. "I don't need company, so get lost!"

The blonde didn't know what to think of that, but he did notice the frozen blood tipping the girl's green skirt. "Something happen?" he questioned tentatively.

Rio glared at him for a moment, biting her lower lip as she tried to control her ability to a small extent. Ice was covering her hands now, so she hid them behind her back, desperately grasping on to any sort of positive emotion before her hands transformed into icy claws. "Yes, but why do you think I'd tell a stranger like you?"

He blinked, still emotionless. "Well, I figured since we're both in precarious situations, I thought I'd ask. No need to bite my head off or anything."

Rio calmed. The ice condensed into water and dripped to the ground. "What happened to you?" she asked, temporarily switching the subject.

"My ex kicked me out, so now I've got nowhere to stay," he replied simply, as if he honestly didn't care that he was now considered homeless.

At least he wasn't alone in that.

"Ah… I see." Dropping her head, Rio stared at the ground, noticing a circle of dead grass surrounding her feet. The color had been drained from the plant, rendering it a decayed brown color. "I'm homeless, too," she said after a moment. "I… lost my brother, and now I have nowhere to go, either."

A soft laugh of irony left him. "Looks like we're both between a rock and a hard place."

"You could say that." She turned to see the lake still partly frozen. "What should we do then, stranger?"

"Call me Tenjou Kaito," he said bluntly. "And really, I don't know. Partner up, I guess."

She smirked at him over her shoulder. "Sounds like a plan," she replied. "I'm Kamishiro Rio, by the way."

Kaito crossed his arms, his gaze anywhere but on her. "So, shall we go find a place to reside before we freeze to death out here?"

"Sure."

…

…

She was seventeen, he was twenty.

Despite the age difference, they stayed together, jumping from warehouse to warehouse to abandoned building to stay warm during the winter months. He eventually learned of her uncanny ability to control water molecules in any way she desired, and he found it more fascinating than horrifying. His interest in science made him want to explore her ability rather than exploit it.

Rio didn't mind Kaito's company. He was like her in several ways; a sad story lost on the streets, fighting for themselves to survive. Neither could get a job, their reputations too badly damaged to even consider such an option. Kaito's ex-girlfriend had told the press that he had abused her in all sorts of ways, and Rio was known simply as a monster and was wanted in several murder cases. So they were forced to mooch off of other people or simply huddle together in the dark alleys and stay warm.

After a few months of this, and when March rolled around, Kaito had asked Rio to become his girlfriend, and she gladly did so. Their love was intensified through the suffering they had to go through, and nothing could break that bond they both shared.

Plus, he was a _damn _good kisser.

"Hey, Rio?" Kaito asked one afternoon of October of the same year as they perched on the ledge of the roof of the tallest building in Tokyo, watching the people below scurry around as they headed home. Rio turned to look at him, holding chilled ice tea in her gloved hands.

"Yes, Kaito?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We've been together for close to a year now, haven't we?" murmured, his eyes on the sunset instead of on the girl sitting next to him. She blinked.

"Um, yeah." Sipping her tea, she curled her fingers tightly around her glass mug.

He fiddled with one of the pockets on his baggy pants. A blush came across his face. "Times have been really good," he started off, unbuttoning said pocket. "And I've really loved the time I've spent with you. But…"

Rio nearly choked as Kaito pulled out a worn out velvet box from his pants. Before she broke anything, she placed her mug on the concrete ledge. The blonde continued with what he was saying, "I want more than just what we have right now, Rio." Popping open the box, he held out the homemade ring in front of her, swallowing the lump in his throat. "So, Kamishiro Rio, will you do the honour of marrying me?"

The girl was stunned. Here she was, now eighteen, and now this guy was proposing to her. Shaking in her thick clothing, she smiled. "Yes, I will."

Kaito grinned, wider than she had ever seen him do so before, and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I love you so much, Rio," he murmured against her ear. She giggled quietly.

"I love you too, baka," she laughed. "Oh, and Kaito?"

"Yes?"

"I'm pregnant."

He pulled away, obviously shocked. "R-Really?" he questioned.

She smirked. "Yeah, you big dork." Rio reached into her pocket and pulled out a pregnancy test, showing a positive sign on it. "I stole this from the store because I had an inkling that I was."

Kaito pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her. After breaking the kiss, he said, "My life couldn't get any better."

"Neither can mine, Kaito," she replied, smiling. "Where shall we go next?"

"Wherever you want to go, my princess."

Giggling, Rio stood, taking the homemade ring from Kaito and slipping it onto her ring finger. It was made of welded copper and silver intricately woven to hold a blue stone in it. It fit perfectly. "I think Spartan City shall be our next destination."

"Agreed," he said. "Plus, I heard that there's a famous actor over there for the next couple of weeks."

After laughing about that, Rio and Kaito headed for the stairwell, holding hands and smiling, wishing for this never to end.

And it never did.

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**_A/N: *dies in a sea of feels* Bros, that was bittersweet. I even enjoyed writing this. So I hope y'all enjoy! Ja ne, and slap that review button with your nose!_**


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